Automatic looper and knotter



June 17, 1930. H. Q WANDERS AUTOMATIC LOOPER AND KNOTTER Filed May 26, 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet Zia 2 fizizwflkfaiziaa *7 W 7? June 17, 1930. H, H, W NQ 1,763,731

AUTOMATIC LOOPER AND KNOTTER Filed May 26. 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 17,1930. H. H. WANDERS AUTOMATIC LOOPER AND KNOTTER Filed May 26, 1926 v 6 Sheets-Sheet I I l l l i I I I I l June 17, 1930; H. H. WANDERS AUTOMATIC LOOPER AND KNOTTER Filed May 26, 1926 6 Sheets-Shet 4 June 17, 1930. H. H. WANDERS v AUTOMATIC LOOPER AND KNOTTER Filed May 26, 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet June 17, 1930. H. H. WANDERS AUTOMATIC LOOPER AND KNOTTER Filed May 26 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 .1 m m? @c g Wm T w w W Z n vvvuvvv bfi ML? w a Patented June 17, 1930 WA NDERS, OFBClSTOiN, MASSACHUSETTS AUTOMATIC LOOPEYR Ann Hom Application filed May 26,

This invention relates to apparatus for automatically formlngloops'ot thread or similar strand material and knottlng the ends of the thread to close the loop. While this machine can be used Wherever it is desired to form closed loops, it finds a particular use in the silk-dyeing art. It is customary in dyeing silk fabrics of the finer and lighter grades to double over the sheet before passing the goods through the dye, thus protecting the iinish on the face of the web from injury from either the dye itself or from the dyeing apparatus. In order to keep the sheet in properly folded condition with the two edges in approximate registration, it has been found desirable to stitch the edges together at frequent intervals, say about every two feet. These stitches must be very loose since if the edges are held to- I gether tightly at any point, the dye does not penetrate evenly and spots result therefrom. It has heretofore been the practice to pass a thread through the doubled layer of Web near the edges and to form a loose loop by cutting off a short length of thread thus passed through and tying the ends to form a loose, closed loop,-these steps all being carried out by hand. This process is slow and laborious and adds materially to so the cost of dyeing the material. By my invention, I provide a machine which will rapidly and automatically pass thread or other strand through the material near the edges, will cut off a suitable length of the thread thus passedthrough, and will tie the ends of the piece of thread together, thus forming a closed loop to hold together the edges of the material loosely. This looping and knottingis done by my machine at desired regular intervals along theedges, the successive loops being rapidly and uniformly tied.

While my machine is particularly useful as described'above in the silk-dyeing industry, its usefulness is by no means limited thereto; It will be obvious that the invention may be applied to the forming of closed loops for any other purpose, such for example as to attach a tag or marker to the edge of'a piece of material, or for any other similar purpose. Further advantages will'be ap- 1926, Serial 110. 111,852.

parent fro1n.tl1e description ofthe machine which follows and from the disclosure on the drawing, of which I I Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete mechanism.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the mechanism with supply and take-up rolls for the material also indicated.

Figures 3 and 4 are details of the carriage supporting the mechanism? I 7 Figure 5 is an elevation of the mechanism itself, part of the shell being broken away to show the working parts within.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic showing of the cylindrical cam slot member shown in Figure 5. V i 7 Figure 6 is an end View of the mechanism itself. i I

Figures 7 and 8 are sections on the lines 7- 7 and88 respectively of Figure 5.

Figure 9 is a perspective of the knot-tying mechanism.

Figure 10 is a section on the line 10-10 of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a side view of the knotting hook, part of the figure being in section to show the method of securing the hook tothe rod which supports it. 1 j I Figure 12'is a perspective of the slide carrying the loop-forming needle.

Figure 13 is a perspective of the slide carrying the loop-forming clamp.

Figures let, 15, 16 and 17 indicate the successive positions of the needle and clamp relative to each other and to the material in forming a loop through the material.

Figure 18indicates the position of the clamp and knotting members at the moment when the thread is cut.

Figures 1 9 to 24 show successive positions of theknotting hook in the course of form: ing a knot in the ends of the thread.

Figure 25 is aperspective of the finished knotted loop passing through the material. The embodiment of my invention which is disclosed on the drawings is one intended for usewith folded webs of silk or other PATENT FFICEI material from a roll or bolt. Themechanism ures l and 2. The mechanism itself is contained in a cylinder 10 mounted to revolve about a fixed shaft 11 which is journalled in a suitable support having end frames 12. The mechanism is preferably mounted in a. convenient position between a supply roll 13 and a take-up roll 14 which may be mounted on suit-able supports 15, 16. In "order to adjust the position of the mechanism so as to register with the edge of the material operated on, the frames 12 are preferably supported as by rollers 17 which permit easy adjustment of the mechanism transversely of the material. I may provide suitable rails 18 upon which the rollers 17 may run, these rails being preferably retained in relative position as by tie rods 19. In order to retain the mechanism in adjusted position, any suitable means may beused, such for example as the clamp indicated in Figure 3, which comprises lower jaw 20 into which is threaded a stem 21 which passes loosely through an upper jaw 22 and is provided with a collar or block 23. The ends of the jaws 20, 22 are disposed in such a manner as to grip the rail 18 when the member 21 is set up. In order to keep the material 24 in contact with the cylinder 10 for a snflicient portion of its periphery, I provide guide rolls 25, 26, the roll 25 being supported in fixed relation to the cylinder 10 as by suitable arms 27, the clearance between the roll 25 and the cylinder 10 being sufiicient to allow the ready passage of the material therebetween. The roll 26 is preferably mounted to be spring pressed against the cylinder 10 and thus to cooperate therewith in feeding the material along and in keeping the material on the surface of the cylinder smooth and uniformly tensioned. To this end I preferably mount the roll 26 on bell crank arms 28 which may be pivotally supported on a longitudinal bar 29 extending between the main supporting frames 12. Secured to the opposite ends of the bell crank arms I provide tensioning means which may be weights sus pended therefrom or as shown on the drawing a pair of springs 30.

The looping and knotting mechanism itself comprises an assembly of moving parts and a cooperating assembly of stationary parts, the moving parts as shown on the drawing being associated with the cylinder 10, the stationary parts being associated with the fixed shaft 11. Since the looping and knotting actions result from the relative motion of these two sets of parts, it will be obvious that it is immaterial which set of parts is the stationary and which moves; that is, although I find it convenient for the particular purpose for which the machine is designed to keep the shaft 11 stationary and to rotate the cylinder 10, the same results can be accomplished by mailitaining the cylinder and its parts stationary and rotating the shaft 11 with its associated parts. In the machine illustrated on the drawing, any suitable means may be employed to rotate the cylinder 10, as for example a gear 200 meshing with a pinion 201 which is driven by a pulley 202 connected to a suitable source of power. The shaft 11 may be secured against rotation in the frames 12 as by set screws 204. The mechanism contained within the cylinder 10 comprises two general divisions, one for forming a loop of thread, the other for cutting, off the length of thread forming the loop and tying together the free ends of the loop.

L 00 pf 01min 9 mechanism Referring to Figures 5, 6, 12 and 13, the loop-forming mechanism comprises a needle 31 fixed in the end of a block 32 which is provided with longitudinal flanges 33 and is mounted to slide longitndin all y across the end of the cylinder 10 as shown in Figure 6, the line of travel of the slide being a chord of the cross section of the cylinder 10 lying near a diameter thereof. Mounted to slide parallel on the opposite side of the shaft 11 is a similar slide 34 having a longitudinal projecting arm 35 on which is pivotally mounted an arm 36 carrying a clamp 37 having a fixed jaw integrally formed with the arm 36 and a movable jaw 38 pivotally attached thereto. The jaws are normally held pressed together as by a spring 39 which is under compressive stress between the opposite end portion 390 of the jaw member 38 and an ear 40 which is formed on the pivoted arm 36 carrying the clamp, A compression spring 41 is located between the car 40 and another car 42 formed on the arm 35, the spring 41 normally pressing the clamp carrying arm 36, as shown in Figure 13, in a direction away from the observer. Formed integrally with the arm 36 is a cam follower block 43 which rides on an edge cam 44- to swing the clamp outwardly from the end of the cylinder to clear other members of the mechanism to be hereinafter described, when the slide 34 travels. Mounted on theneedle-carrying block 32 is a sword shaped wedge 45. The wedge and clamp are so positioned on the end of the cylinder 10 that the former upon being moved upwardly will pass between the jaws of the clamp 37 and will open the same against the pressure of the spring 39. The slides 32 and 34 are secured respectively as by clamps 46, 47 to cables 48, 49. The cable or belt 48 passes over idler wheels 50 and 51, the ends being passed around a driving wheel 52 and anchored therein as at 53, 54. Motion of the wheel 52, the actuation of which will be hereinafter described in detail, thus actuates the slide 32 which carries the needle 31 and the clamp-opening sword 45. In a similar manner the cable or the shafts 60, 61 is accomplished in the present machine by mechanism including edge cams which are fixed on the stationary shaft 11 about which the cylinder 10 revolves. On the inner end of shaft 60, as shown in Figures 5 and 7, is fixed a pinion 68 which meshes with a rack 64 in the form of the arc of a sector piece 65 mounted on a stud 66 and provided with a bell crank arm 67 carrying on its end a cam-following roller 68. A

suitable compression spring 69 is positioned" to bear against the sector plate 65 in such a way as to press the cam follower 68 firmly against the edge of the cam 70. The shape of the cam 70 therefore determines the motions of the needle-bearing slide 32, outward motion of the cam follower 68 away from the shaft 11 resulting in a projection of the needle outwardly in a substantially radial direction. The clamp-bearing slide 34 is connected by a like construction including a pinion 71 mounted on the shaft 61 and meshing with a sector piece\72 pivotally mounted on the stud 73 and rigidly connected with a bell crank arm 74 carrying a cam-following roll 7 5 which is pressed as by a spring 7 6 against the edge of a cam 77 fixed to the shaft 11. Before the loop-forming mechanism is brought into play to operate on the material passing over the cylinder, the edge ofthe material in the vicinity of the path of the needle is caught and held in place as by a clamp member 78 which is pivotally mounted. to swing over the edge of the shell of the cylinder 10 and hold the edge'of the material thereagainst where the needle passes up through. As shown in Figure 5, the edge clamp 78 is pivotally mounted as at 7 9 with a pinion 80 which meshes with a rack formed in the end of a bar 81 which extends in an axial direction through a portion'of the cylinder and is provided with a cam follower 82 which engages a face cam 83 fixed to the shaft 11. In Figure 5 most of the rod 81 is broken away to show the other parts of the mechanism more clearly. Onthe portion of the bar 81 adjacent to the roller 82, a compressionspring 84 may be provided to hold the follower 82 againstthe face of the cam 83. 1

In describing the operation of the loopforming mechanism, it should'be noted that in Figures 2, 6, '7 and 8 the direction of rotation of the cylinder 10 and the partsassociated therewith is clockwise. The position of the cylinder and its parts as shown in Figures 2 and 5 to 8 is the one in' which the needle and clamp-carrying slides 32 and 34 are in a substantially vertical position.

This occurs in the cycle of operations just after the loop has been formed and just before the knot is tied in the ends of the seg- =ment of thread. The operation o-fthe loopforming elements begins just after the needle has reached a position pointing toward the guide roll 25. At this point the material 24 comes in contact with the revolving cylin der 10 and the edge thereof is at once caught by the edge clamp 78 which is swung over the edge of the shell of the cylinder-I 10 by the spring 84, since at this point in the revolution of the cylinder 10 the cam follower 82-leaves the raised portion of the cam 83 (Figure 5) permitting the bar 81 to move to the left. Shortly thereafter the clamp 37 is projected radially to a position beyond the surface of the cylinder 10 as the cam follower 7 5 (Figure 7 passes from the point 86 to the point 87 on the cam 77. It is held in this position while the roller moves from'87 to 88 on thecam 77. While the clamp is held in thisposition, the needle 31 is projected. by the slide 32 to its outermost position as'the cam follower 68 moves radially outward on the extended portion 89 of the cam 70. In this position the eye of the needle is directly opposite the end of the clamp 37 and close thereto. The outward motion of the slide 32 carrying the needle also projects the sword cam 45 be tween the jaws 37 and 38 spreading them apart. As the cam follower 68 rides over the apex of the extended portion 89 of the cam 70, the needle 31 and sword cam 45 begin to retract, the clamp 37 being allowed to closeupon the thread passing through the eye of the needle before the needle has descended out of reach. The needle 31 is provided with a longitudinal groove on the side away from-th'e-clamps37, so that as the needle retracts, the thread extending from its eye downwardly through the cloth on the side adjacent to the clamp 87 is prevented from retraction by the frictional action of the cloth and is bulged into a loop which is readily grasped by the jaws of the clamp 37. The thread on the further side of the needle being in the longitudinalgroove is not held by contact with the cloth, and no loop is formed on that side as theneedleretracts. It may be noted here that the thread is preferably supplied in the form of a cop 9001' other thread body of suitable size,

mounted on a bracket 91 extending from the plate 62, so that the thread body rotates with the cylinder 10. The endof the thread is led up through suitableguides such as 92, 93, a light tension being placed there0n by carrying it between the end of a leaf sprlng 920 and an extension921 of the cam memof the thread.

her 45. (Figure 12). A slot 922 is preferably provided in the slide 32 to keep the threads from catching on other parts of the mechanism. The free end is threaded through the eye of the needle so as to extend in the direction of the clamp and to be caught thereby as the needle starts to retract. During the further retraction of the needle to its lowermost position (as in Figure 6), the clamp 37 is projected to its outermost position, drawing upwardly a sufficient length of thread to form a loop of suitable size, this motion of the clamp 37 taking place as the roller 75 moves from 88 to 94 on the cam 77. The successive positions of the needle and clamp as thus far described are illustrated in Figures 14:, 15 and 16, Figure 14 showing the needle rising to its outermost position and carrying the free end of the thread through the material. Figure 15 shows the needle starting in its descent while the cam 15 permits the clamp 37 to close and grip the free end of the thread. Figure 16 shows the clamp 37 elevated to its outermost position having drawn a sufficient length of thread through the material to form a loop of desired size. The clamp 37 is thereupon quickly retracted by the motion of the cam follower 7 from point 9 1 to 95 (Figure 7) bringing the free end of the thread down alongside the standing part of the thread as shown in Figure 17, the position assumed by the clamp 37 being that illustrated in Figure 6, the clamp still gripping the end In order to avoid interfercure of the clamp 37 with the edge of the shell of the cylinder 10 and associated parts,

the clamp is swung outwardly on its pivotal mounting by a cam 44: (Figure 6) mounted to be engaged by a follower 43 (Figure 13) formed 011 the arm 36 which carries the clamp. This cam swings the clamp outwardly whenever it is moved up or down past the knot-tying mechanism and the edge ot' the cylinder shell. The clamp is held stationary in the position shown in Figures 6 and: 17, while the cam follower 75 travels from the point 95 to the point 96. In this interval the thread-gripping and cutting mechanism shown in Figures 9 and 10 is advanced to seize the two parts of the thread as shown in Figure 17 and to cut the stand ing part leading upwardly from the needle 31, as in Figure 18. Thereupon the clamp is moved down a short distance as the roller 75 passes from 96 to 97 on the cam 77. By this motion a pin 98 (Figure 13) mounted on the movable jaw 38 of the clamp 37 is moved into contact with a notch in an arm 99 which is mounted coaxially with the wheel 50. The arm 99 is provided with a slot 100 within which a pin 101 mounted on the wheel 50' moves, thus allowing the arm 99 a limited movement relative to the wheel 50, a springlOQ being used to keep the arm normally at the counter clockwise limit ol its range of motion with respect to the wheel 50 as shown in Figure 6. The pin 98 on the movable jaw 38 engaging side wall 103 of the notch in the end of the arm 99 moves the arm downwardly against the spring 102 and the arc-like path of the end of the arm moves the pin 98 laterally to the right (Figure 6) suflicientl y to open the clamp 38 slightly and to release the thread. The clamp is subsequently moved to its lowermost position where it remains until the cycle of operations described is repeated.

Knot-tying mechanism As has been previously described, just before the free end 01": the thread is released by the clamp 37, the mechanism illustrated in Figure 9 is actuated to seize the thread and to sever the part leading from the needle 31 preparatory to tying the ends of the length thus cut oil in a double overhand knot. The knot-tying mechanism comprises two pairs of jaws 1091, 105, the upper pair 104: being constructed. to grip the doubled thread firmly, the lower pair 105 being constructed to grip the doubled thread somewhat loosely. These two pairs of jaws are mounted to swing together on shafts 106 and 107, the one jaw of each pair being fixed to each of the two shafts. Also mounted on the shafts 106, 107 are knives 1.08, 109, which operate as shears to cut off the doubled thread immediately above the clamp 37 when the jaws 104, 105 move to clamping position. These aws are normally held in. clamping position by a spring 110 stretched between projecting arms 111 and 112. The jaws are opened against the tension of the spring 110 by arms 113, llet, which extend rearwardly as shown in Figure 10 and are soshaped as to rotate the shafts 106 and 107 when they are pressed against the plate 62. thus spreading the jaws 1041- and 105 and opening the shears 108, 109. The shafts 106, 107 are preferably mounted in a suitable block 115 which is fixed to a hollow rod or bar 116 extending through the plate 62 and actuated for motion parallel to the axis of the cylinder as by a cam follower 117 riding on. a cam 118 (Figure 5), the roller 117 being held against the cam 118 as by a spring 85 pressing gainst aflange or collar 86 fixed to the bar 116. As shown in Figure 7, the bar 116 is adjustably clamped by a carriage 850 which slides on a guide bar 85-1 and carries the roller 117. As will be seen from Figure 5, the raised portion of the cam 118 is so positioned that the block 115 carrying the aws and shears is projected. outwardly from the face of the plate 62 just after the mechanism passes the position illustrated in Figure 6. that is, just after the free end of the thread has been carried through the material by tl needle and has beendrawn through further by the clamp 37 and carried downwardly to form a loop as previously describedand as illustrated in Figure 17.- The jaws 104 are so constructed that when they are in fully closed position, theygrip the two parts of the thread tightly, whereas the jaws 105 when in fully closed position grip the thread somewhat loosely so as to allow the thread to be pulled through, but at the. same time resisting the pull to some extent. The knottying apparatus itself comprises a hook member, the stem 119 of which is mounted as shown in Figure -11 in the end of a rod 120. The bar 116 supporting the block being hollow, the rod 120 is fitted thereinto so as to slide or turn therein and to project the hook 121 out between the jaws-104 and the jaws 105, as shown in Figure 9.. The hook 121-is thus positioned to catch the portions of the thread extending between the jaws 104 and 105. The hook 121 is formed by bending back a portion of the stem 119, the end of thebent back portion of the hook being turned inwardly toward the stem of the hook as at 122. A portion ofthe hook 121 is bent away from its original plane as at 123, this structure being clearly illustrated in several ofthe figures such as Figures 11. and- 18. The hook and its supporting rod 120 are projected or retracted axially of the cylinder 10 by a cam follower 124 riding in a cam slot 125 as shown in Figure 5. Thiscam slot is cut or otherwise formed in the cylindrical face of .a drum 126 which is fixed to the shaft 11, the periphery of this drum being shown in Figure 5 with the entire'length of the cam slot 125 indicated thereon. The cam follower 124 is mounted on a carriage 127 within which the rod 120 is free to revolve, flanges or collars 128 being fixed to the bar 120 in contact with the carriage 127 in order to move the rod 120 axially of the cylinder 10 as the cam follower 124 follows the cam 125. The rotation of the rod 120 and the hook member 119 is controlled as by an edge cam 129 (Figure 8) on which rides a cam-following roller 130 mounted on one arm of a bell crank 131, the other arm'of which carries an arcuate rack 132 with which meshes a pinion 133, which as shown is suitably geared as by a gear 134 and a pinion 135 to the rod 120 on which the pinion 135 is fixed. In order to hold the follower 130 in contact with the cam 129, a suitable spring 136 is provided which as shown in Figure 8 presses against the arm of the bell crank lever carrying the rack 132, the' other end of the spring being supported as by a plate 137 which serves to support the middle portion ofthe shell of the cylinder 10. The arrangement of the rack and gears controlling the rotation of the rod 120 and the hook 121 is such that motion of the roller 130 radially outward results in a clockwise rotation of the rod 120 and hook 121 as in, Figures 2, 6 and 8.

The operation of the hook 121 in tying the knot in the ends of the looped thread can be followed from the cams illustrated in Figures 5 and .8 and the successive steps shown in Figures 19 to 24. In Figures 5 and 8, the letters a, b, c, (3, e, f and .g are used to indicate positions on the two cams simultaneously reached by the respective cam followers, .these letters being used in ordento simplify the description of the operation of these cams. Beginning with the left hand end of the cam 125. shown .in F i ure 5*, it will be seen that the hook 121 is carried in retracted position until the jaws 104, 105 have closed upon the two parts of the thread as shown in Figure 17 and the thread leading from the needle has been severed. The hook 121 is thereupon projected outwardly to extend beyond the segments of the thread held between the jaws 104, 105 until the roller 124 reaches thev position a. In the followingdescription of the motions of translation and rotation of the hook 121 in performing the operations incident to the tying of the knot, for simplicity it will be considered for the timebeing that the knottying device is stationary in the position indicated in Figure 6, although in the machine as actually constructed, these parts revolve around'the shaft 11 with the cylinder 10. The thread segments between the jaws 104 and 105 may thus be considered as extending in a vertical direction whenthe hook 121 is first projected. The position of the hook at this time is such that the bent back portion is vertically below the stein portion so thatto an observer facing the end of the cylinder 10, the loop portion .of thehook, which is bent at points 123, ex-

tends toward the left. The thread segments 7 between the jaws 104, 105 are preferably pfositioned substantially in line with the stem ofthe'hook 121 sothat as the hook projects in the positiondescribed, its bent loop portion will engage the threads and allow them to slide along in contact with the stem 119. As the hook starts to retract by the travel of the roller 124 from the. point a to the point 6, the roller 130 riding on the edge cam 129 moves inwardly in passing from a to ,7), thus allowing the spring 136 to turn the hook in a counter-clockwise direction a quarter turnto bring the plane of the hook in a substantially horizontal position. The hook is then retracted by motion of the roller 124 from Z) to 0 while being maintained with substantially no rotation. Since the threads are in contact wit-l the stem of the hook when it is retracted, they will pass inside the end ofthe end 122 and will be caught at the end of the loop 121 as shown slack to form a loop in the threads for the knot. After the hook has been sufficiently retracted for this purpose, as shown in Figure 19, it is projected again from o to e as in Figure 5. At the same time during the first part of the projecting movement, the hook is given a rapid rotation of one and one-quarter turns to the left as the roller 130 passes from c to (Z. This twists the slack of thread between the jaws 104, 105 into a loop 138 as shown in Figure 20 and puts the bent back end 122 of the hook vertically above the stem. In passing from cl to c, the roller 124 projects the hook 119 to its outermost position while the latter is turned slightly to the right or in a clockwise direction. This brings the hook 121 into the position shown in Figure 21 where the stem extends through the thread loop 138 and under the free segments 139, the ends of which are held by the jaws 10.5. The roller 124 now retracts the hook 121. During the initial portion of this retracting movement, that is, from 6 to f, the hook is given a quarter turn to the left, thus bringing the end 122 horizontal with and to the left of the stem 119 as indicated in Figure 22. As a result of this quarter turn to the left, the thread segments 139 are caught between the end 122 and the stem, thus passing into the loop of the hook as the latter is retracted. During the next portion of the retracting movement, that is, fronrf to 1 the hook is rotated one-half turn to the right, thus swinging the end 122 to the right side of the stem of the hook as it enters the loop 138 of thread so that it avoids catching the thread loop and passes through it instead, as shown in Figure 23. The hook is now retracted to its furthest position inward without further rotation, the free segments 139 being pulled clear of the jaws 105 and drawn through the thread loop 138, thus completing the knot as illustrated in Figure 15. The hook is thereupon advanced a short distance to its initial position and is gradually turned in a clockwise rotation to the position it had when the knottying operation was begun.

As the cylinder 10 revolves, the knot-tying operation is completed before the knot-tying elements have reached the guide roll 26, so that by the time the web 24 leaves the cylinder 10, the segment of thread forming the loop passing through the edges of the web has been cut off and knotted. This series of operations takes place once during each revolution of the cylinder 10 so. that a loose loop is formed and knotted at intervals on the web 24: equal to the circumference of the cylinder. As previously mentioned, it is to be understood that the same cycle of operations can be performed by holding the cylinder l0 stationary and revolving the parts associated with the shaft 11.

Having thus described an embodiment of my invention, it should be evident to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from its spirit or scope as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A machine of the class described comprising a shaft and a cylinder mounted coaxially for relative rotation, a group of members carried by said cylinder, and another group of members carried by said shaft and cooperating with the first said group to form successive loops from a strand, cut off lengths therefrom, and knot together the ends of each length.

2. A machine of the class described comprising a fixed shaft, a cylinder mounted for rotation coaxially of said shaft, means for feeding sheet material over said cylinder during the rotation thereof, and mechanism for automatically forming and knotting spaced loops of strand material through an edge of the sheet material, said mechanism comprising members carried by said shaft, and other cooperating members carried by said cylinder.

3. A machine of the class described comprising a fixed shaft, a hollow cylinder mounted coaxially with said shaft for rotation therearound, means for guiding and feeding a web of sheet material around the major portion of said cylinder, a threadcarrying needle, means for projecting the needle through said web at points spaced longitudinally of the web, means for seizing the free end of the thread after each projection of said needle and carrying it alongside the standing part of the thread, where by a loop of thread is formed extending through the web, means for cutting off the looped portion of the thread, and means for knotting together the ends thereof; said needle-projecting means, thread-seizing means, and knotting means each including a cam member fixed to said shaft and a cam follower engaging its respective cam and associated with said cylinder.

4. In a machine of the class described, a fixed shaft, a rotatable cylinder mounted coaxially thereof, means for feeding continuous sheet material over said cylinder during the rotation thereof, means for forming separate loops of strand material through said sheet material at spaced points along an edge thereof, and means for clamping the sheet material adjacent each said point during the formation of the loop thereat.

5. A machine of the class described, comprising means for feeding a continuous longitudinally folded web having its selvages in superposed relation, and means for loosely joining said selvages together, said joining means comprising means for passing separate loops of thread through said selvage portions at predetermined intervals, and means for knotting together the free ends of each loop With a substantial amount of slack thread outside the web.

6. A machine of the class described, comprising a rotatable cylinder, means for feedng a continuous web over said cylinder, and

means for forming loose separate loops through a marginal portion of said Web at predetermined intervals as it passes over said cylinder.

7 A machine of the class described, comprising a rotatable cylinder, means for feeding a continuous Web over said cylinder, means for forming and knotting separate loose loops through a marginal portion of said Web, and means for automatically actuating the loop forming and knotting means each time the cylinder makes a revolution.

8. A machine of the class described, comprising a rotatable cylinder, means for feeding sheet material over said cylinder with an edge of the material extending in the direction of motion, means for passing a loop of thread through a marginal portion of the sheet on the surface of the cylinder, and means forknotting the free ends of the loop around the adjacent edge of the sheet.

9. A machine of the class described, comprising a fixed shaft, a cylindrical drum mounted for rotation on said shaft to receive a portion of a traveling Web on its outer surface, means carried by said drum for forming and knotting separate loose loops of thread along one edge of the VG/b.

10. In a machine of the class described, a fixed shaft, a cylindrical drum mounted for rotation on said shaft to receive a portion of a traveling Web on its outer surface, means carried by said drum for forming separate spaced loops of thread along one edge of said Web, and means for kno'tting the ends of each loop of thread, said knottting means comprising a hook mounted in said drum parallel to said shaft and means carried by the drum for imparting longitudinal and rotational motion to said hook.

11. In a machine of the class described, a fixed shaft, a cylindrical drum mounted for rotation on said shaft to receive a portion of a traveling web on its outer surface, means carried by said drum for forming separate spaced loops of thread along one edge of said Web, means for cutting off a segment of thread for each loop, and means for knotting together the ends of each loop, said knotting'means comprising a pair of spaced clamps, means for actuating said clamps to seize the end portions of a loop, ahook carried by said drum parallel to the afis thereof, and means for imparting longitudinal and rotational motion to said hook.

12. In a machine of the class described, a fixed shaft, a drum mounted for rotation on said shaft to receive a portion of a traveling web on its outer surface, and means for forming separate loops of thread through the marginal portion adjacent to one edge of said web, said loops passing loosely around i the adjacent edge of the web and being uniformly spaced longitudinally of the Web, said loop-forming means comprising a slide mounted adjacent to one end of said drum for motion transverse thereto, a thread clamp carried by said slide, a second slide mounted beside-the first for motion transverse to the drum, a needle mounted on said second slide. and arranged to penetrate through a marginal portion of said Web, means carried by said second slide for operating the jaws of said clamp, and means for operating said slides.

13. In a machine of the class described, a fixed shaft, a cylindrical drum rotatably mounted thereon to receive a portion of a traveling Web on its outer surface, means carried by said drum for forming a loop of thread loosely passing around an edge of said web and through the adjacent marginal portion thereof, means carried by the drum for knotting the ends of the loop so formed, and means for actuating said looping means and knotting means when the drum reaches predetermined angular positions in its rotation about said axis.

14. A machine of the class described,

comprising a fixed shaft, a drum mounted for rotation thereon, means for rotating said drum on said shaft as an axis, a pair of spaced rollers engaging the peripheral surface of the drum having axes parallel to said shaft, means for resiliently pressing said rollers against said drum to. cooperate with said drum to feed a strip of sheet material With a portion thereof contacting the peripheral face of the drum between said rollers, means carried by said drum and revolving therewith about saidshaft for clamping an edge of said strip at spaced points to the surface of the drum between the rollers, means for forming a loop of thread about said edge of the strip adjacent to said clamped points, means for tying together the ends of said looped thread to close the individual loops, and means for actuating said clamping, looping and knotting means to operate at predetermined intervals on the portion of the strip on the drum between the rollers.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

HANS H. VVANDERS. 

